Bible Versions

April 3, 2025

Introduction

I cannot tell you how many times people have come to me with a copy of a book such as Gail Riplinger's New Age Bible Versions, very confused about which Bible version to read, and asking:

 

  • "Is it true that only the King James Version follows the original Greek and Hebrew texts?"
  • "Is it true that all the other texts have been mutilated in some way?"
  • "Do you know that New Agers say ‘The Christ’?"
  • "Do you know there was a lesbian on the translation committee of the N.I.V?"

Now, is there any basis for all this stuff?

Let's begin at the beginning. During December 1996, I went into hospital for tests on my neck. I consulted one of the most highly respected neuro-radiologists in Africa – a British educated Jewish woman who came to faith through our ministry in South Africa. Dr Hilda Podlas is a professor of neuro-radiology. (She writes for medical journals and lectures on the subject.) And in Britain I had a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan on my neck.

All the neuro-surgeons and neurologists, consulting together, came to the same conclusion: We could operate on your neck, but there is not a sufficiently high enough probability that surgery would either reduce the pain or prevent future degeneration. If there was any reasonable chance of either or both of those outcomes we would recommend surgery, but as things are we cannot make that recommendation.

I went to see the best specialists in South Africa and Britain, and all the experts agreed. No problem.

Incidentally, I had those medical tests thanks to my membership of a health insurance fund. How I came to have that health insurance is an interesting story.

When I was in Bible College, my church in London had a new heat pump installed in the basement of the building. But it was not implemented correctly. One dark, rainy night, when I was leaving the building, I noticed boiling water pouring off the main roof onto a lower roof. I did not know what it was, but I was afraid that it might cause an electrical fire. So I decided to investigate — not by going back inside and up the stairs to look out a window with a torch to see what it was, but by climbing up on the spike-topped cast iron railing that surrounded the old building. The railing was wet. My foot slipped. And one of the spikes went through my ribs and into my chest, driving my pectoral muscle into my lung. I was impaled and there was no one around.

That was only the beginning of calamities. Getting off the spike was the second. And the third was that the British National Health Scheme was in such a bad way that the hospital staff asked me to "be a good Christian" and sign myself out of hospital while I was still in need of treatment. They promised that they would send visiting nurses around to repack my chest.

We had no money for private health insurance (I was a seminary student at the time) and I wanted to "be a good Christian", so I signed myself out of hospital. Then my chest became infected and I almost failed my last year of Bible College. So I said, "I can live like this, but God forbid that it should happen to my wife and children". And although it cost us a lot of money by our standards at the time, we have had health insurance ever since.

I went into hospital last December to have the tests on my neck. But somebody goofed up. I was supposed to have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, but they had me down for something called a “cerebral angiogram”. Some clerk not trained in medical terminology goofed the thing up. Thanks to my medical training, I knew the difference between the two procedures and was able to redirect the hospital staff. I spotted the mistake in time and everything turned out all right. But what would have happened if I did not have that medical knowledge? Anyone who didn’t know what a cerebral angiogram was would have had the wrong test.

Expert Knowledge Versus Uneducated Opinion

Here we have two cases: in one case we have expert medical opinion all agreed; in the other case we have an untrained clerk arranging for someone to undergo the wrong procedure.

The debate about Bible versions is no different. There is a divide between scholarly people who can read Hebrew and Greek, who have studied theology and biblical archaeology and textual criticism all their lives, and a group of vocal individuals who do not have the scholarship background to be making the claims they do.

Gail Riplinger seems impressive. She has letters after her name - "B.A.", "M.A." and "M.F.A." from Cornell University and Harvard University. Very impressive. What she doesn't tell you is that her degrees are in "Home Economics"! Gail Riplinger has no relevant theological or language qualifications at all.

Dentists and Lawyers

Last week I visited my dentist to have a cap put on a tooth. My dentist is Maurice Green, a Jewish guy who prayed with me to receive the Lord many years ago. His son is the Vice Principal of London Bible College and the Chairman of Jews for Jesus in the U.K. Maurice is a very good dentist.

I also visited my lawyer last week. My barrister is Rex Makin, who is considered to be the best litigation attorney in the North of England. Good for Rex Makin, but he is not going to cap my teeth. Maurice Green is an excellent dentist, but I don't want him to represent me in a court of law.

"Expert" Opinion?

What happens when an average person, not trained in Hebrew and Greek, reads a book like Riplinger's New Age Bible Versions, a book produced by someone not qualified to write on the subject?

If you are going to pontificate on Bible versions you should have been to seminary. At the very least you should have done basic studies in theology. You should have studied Hebrew and Greek, and completed some university-level studies in Textual Criticism. You should have a better than passing acquaintance with Biblical Archaeology – you should understand how we came to have the various manuscripts that we do today.

Gail Riplinger was interviewed by Wayne House, a conservative, evangelical Christian scholar. Wayne House reports that she "repeatedly mispronounced terms used by biblical scholars" (1) . After he had asked her four times, "She hesitatingly admitted that she could not read Greek". (2)

It is not a simple matter to reach an informed opinion regarding biblical texts and correct translations.

When I consulted the experts regarding my neck, there were three neural radiologists, two neuro-surgeons and four or five neurologists, all looking at the same MRI scans. Each of them expressed their personal opinion. They weren't looking to make a political decision, they were looking for a right decision. They were considering a technical problem, with each bringing their own technical perspective and professional experience to bear on the question. Medicine is not an exact science. There is always a margin of discrepancy.

The same applies to Textual Criticism. It is not as easy as people make it out to be. With Gail Riplinger we have someone who doesn't know what she is doing, causing enormous upset in the lives of untrained Christians. Wayne House points that the only good thing about Riplinger's book is that it "is not any longer than it is and that the foolishness of its various claims are transparent when one takes the time to study them". (3)

I have to agree with him. New Age Bible Versions is rubbish, absolute rubbish. This is not to put down the King James Version, and it is not to endorse other versions.

Personally, I do not think the New International Version (NIV) is a good translation. It is structured on a thought-by-thought basis, rather than a word-by-word basis. Whenever you take that approach to translation work, you end up with too much of the translator's personal interpretation.

All translations carry a certain amount of interpretation. If you had a speaker in one language with three fluent speakers of that language translating into another language in which they were also fluent, the three translations would differ in many ways. There is always a subjective element in translation work.

The Greek of the New Testament (koine) is trying to convey Hebraic or Aramaic thoughts to a Hellenistic world. Which is not to say that you need to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar to understand the Bible. You don't. But if you are going to make definitive pronouncements – this is the right one and that is the wrong one – you had better know what you are talking about. Some of the conclusions that Gail Riplinger has arrived at are absolutely absurd.

Acrostic Algegbra

There is such a thing as acrostic algebra in the Bible; see Psalm 119, for example. Many English translations insert headings – aleph, beth, gimel, daleth, etc. – above the relevant sections. And there is also such a thing as biblical numerics and numerical typology – twelve apostles, twelve tribes of Israel, one hundred and forty-four, multiples of four and seven, and so on. Certain numbers are associated with certain things.

There have been people like Ivan Panin - (1855-1942) a Russian who spent many years in the United States -- who developed a system of numerical analysis late last century and early this century. His system is still being debated. But Gail Riplinger teaches an absurd form of alphabetical algebra, where she subtracts the letters of carefully selected abbreviations from one another in order to end up with the letters SIN, which is supposed to show God's disapproval of translations other than the King James Version.

Wayne House conducted a parallel exercise with the abbreviations for the Cunard's Authorized (CA), King James II (KJ2), Hayman's Epistles (HE), Revised English Bible (REB), New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Bible (NASB) and Barclay's New Testament (BNT), and came up with the letters CHRIST. What does that prove? In fact, if you reverse the last three letters of Gail Riplinger's first name and add the first letter of her surname you get the letters LIAR. What does that prove? And if someone were to declare that God had told them to carry out this piece of alphabetical acrobatics – as Riplinger claims regarding her absurd exercise- what would that prove?

The whole thing is insane.

Riplinger "Inspired"?

In a newsletter, Riplinger effectively claims divine inspiration for her own book . (4)

"Daily, during the six years needed for this investigation, the Lord miraculously brought the needed materials and resources – much like the ravens fed Elijah. Each discovery was not the result of effort on my part, but of the direct hand of God – so much so that I hesitated to even put my name on the book. Consequently, I used G. A. Riplinger - God as author and Riplinger as secretary." If God wrote this book, I would like to know why He made so many mistakes. Doesn't He know Greek and Hebrew?

Responding Responsibly

There are genuine problems with some translations that exist today. For example, The New Inclusive Bible is a censored, politically-correct translation that is heretical.

There is a legitimate problem, but it must be addressed in a legitimate way. There is a New Age infiltration of the church going on today. But it must be addressed responsibly, not irresponsibly. When real problems are publicly and irresponsibly addressed by people who cannot be taken seriously, the arguments for truth become discredited. A lot of what is said in the name of Creationism is neither theologically nor scientifically responsible. Plausible arguments are easily discredited when advanced by crazy people. Hence the battle against the teaching of secular evolution is often damaged by Creationists.

When God needed somebody to defend the Messiahship of Jesus to the Jewish establishment, He got a Pharisee to do it. When He needed somebody to carry the Gospel to the Greco-Roman world and write the Epistles – taking Jewish thoughts and communicating them to people with a Greek world-view – He got somebody who knew how to do it. It is unfortunate that people try to do things that they are not called or equipped to do.

Quoting People Out of Context

In page after page, Riplinger attacks people. She does not attack people's views or teaching, but rather she slanders them, usually by taking things they said out of the context in which they said it. And on that false or distorted basis, she tries to say they are this or that or the other. In a court of law, the rules of jurisprudence prevent this method of argument; Riplingers' attacks would simply be thrown out. Neither would it stand up in academic theology. In a scholarly debate her methods would be torn to bits.

For example, she attacks Edwin Palmer, the executive secretary of the NIV committee. Riplinger accuses Palmer of denying that the Holy Spirit played a role in the conception, the "begetting", of Jesus and tries to link his views to Mormon theology. (3)

She probably doesn't know it, but the Greek word is monogenes, which includes far more than the English word "beget". Palmer made the statement (5) – "The Holy Spirit did not beget the Son" – in relation to the eternal begetting of the Son from the Father within the Trinity. It had nothing to do with Mary's begetting of Jesus. Riplinger quotes Palmer – out of all context – then follows with another quote from the Mormon, Brigham Young, regarding the physical conception of Jesus through Mary. Palmer (6) says directly, in another place in his book, that the "Holy Spirit was needed at the very start of Jesus' human life, at his incarnation. By the word incarnation we mean the act by which the second Person of the Trinity, remaining God, 'became flesh and lived for a while among us' (John 1:14)."

Riplinger has taken one statement by Palmer, out of context, in order to falsely accuse him of denying the Holy Spirit's involvement in Jesus' physical conception, when Palmer – in the same book – has explicitly stated that the Holy Spirit was involved.

Wayne House (6) comments that, "This is careless scholarship or confused theology at best, but it may be outright deception on her part to prove her ill-founded theory about the supposed heresies of the NIV."

Riplinger's method of suggesting that Edwin Palmer is a heretic is identical to that used against Jesus. "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" (Mark 14:58).

They took the things He said out of context, and out of the overall context of His teaching, and falsely accused Him. This is the method of Satan – the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). I do not like the NIV, but I am not going to go around telling people that Edwin Palmer is like the Mormons just because I disagree with him from a scholarly perspective. Our disagreement does not make the man a heretic.

New Age and "The Christ"

Riplinger charges that the translators of the NIV use the term "the Christ" in the same way as New Age people do. It is true that when New Agers say "the Christ", they mean "the Christ within". They are not referring to Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, they are referring to their spiritualist concept of the Christ. It all goes with their Gnostic idea of the Cosmic Illumination of the Inner Self.

It is true that New Age people do that. However, the Hebrew Old Testament uses the term HaMessiach – the Messiah (or “the Christ” or “the Anointed One”), because there were many messiahs – many “anointed ones”. Every king, every prophet and every priest was an 'anointed one'. The use of the definite article was necessary to indicate the ultimate “anointed one” who was to come.

Jesus is apart from and above all the other “anointed ones”, and this fact is indicated by the use of the definite article. The HaMessiach of the Old Testament becomes the ho christos – the Christ – of the New Testament. There is no problem here, except that Gail Riplinger says there is a problem. "Real references to Jesus as 'the Christ' are rare: however, new versions literally paint their pages with this pawn". (7) Let's look at the facts. The phrase "the Christ" appears 19 times in the King James Version. It appears 48 times in the NIV. The Greek ho christos appears 59 times in the (so-called) Textus Receptus. If you take into account all the instances of ho christos in its other case forms, the total number of times "the Christ" appears in the various Greek texts is:

  • Textus Receptus (1551) = 169
  • Majority-Byzantine = 166
  • Nestle-Aland 26th Ed. = 146


Which is to say that, if we take Riplinger at her word, the manuscript on which the King James Version is based contains more "New Age" references than the manuscripts used in the modern versions.

  • Her argument is, itself, stupid.

 

  • If the term "the Christ" is proof of heretical tendencies, then the King James Version is far more heretical than the translations that she attacks.

The whole thing is absurd. Gail Riplinger is a charlatan and a fraud. I don't know how much money she has made out of her book, but I know the damage she has done to many Christians.

The King James Version as the Bible of Paul and the Apostles

Riplinger's basic argument is that any biblical manuscript which doesn't agree with the King James Version is an "addition" to the Word of God. But what do you do if the "addition" appears in manuscripts that pre-date the documents that the King James Version draws upon? In that case we can argue that it is the King James that contains the "additions", not the other way around.

There are many ancient biblical manuscripts; some are better than others. We have over ten thousand significant fragments of the New Testament; the oldest of which dates from the second century. By comparison, we have only 420 copies of the Conquests of Julius Caesar, which shows that God is watching over His Word to perform it. Until the late 19th Century, most texts used by Bible translators were constructed from a compilation of manuscripts that went back to the 7th Century. Some were 4th Century, but most were 7th Century. Since the end of the last century we have access to far more manuscripts than previously. Riplinger urges that we ignore these and stick to the ones used in the translation of the King James Version.

The Textus Receptus

The KJV translators used something known as the Textus Receptus (meaning “the received text”) for the New Testament. Riplinger attacks all the alternative manuscripts as unreliable. But the Textus Receptus comes from something known as the Majority Text, which is not a source document in its own right. The Textus Receptus draws on at least four other source manuscripts, with the dominant source being from the Byzantine text tradition. Another text, called the Alexandrinus, draws on the same source. The Textus Receptus – in common with other texts that the King-James-Only people condemn – has the same source!

How can you say that this is the only right one, the others follow bad source texts, when they actually have a common source text? It is an absurd argument, but the average person would not know that. Riplinger says that, under the influences of Origen at Alexandria, all the other texts were mutilated to point away from the Deity of Christ.

Origen was a heretic. I do not deny that for one second. He had crazy, Gnostic ideas (ultimate reconciliation, Satan is going to be saved), he castrated himself. The guy was nuts. I am no fan of Origen. However, Origen also wrote something called the Hexalpha, where he published the six Greek versions of the Bible available in his time alongside one another, so that people could compare them. What we know about his life shows that Origen was not trying to push any one version. These people claim all the other versions were mutilated, except the (so-called) Majority Text, which came to be the Textus Receptus and what evolved from that. It is pure conjecture. There is no proof Origen ever did what they say. On the contrary, the Hexalpha indicates that the exact opposite is more likely.

Appeal to Immorality

Then they say "there was a lesbian on the translation committee of the NIV". Who “authorized” the Authorized Version? It was not God, but a homosexual pedophile king who sodomized little boys – King James I of England. Does that negate the validity of the translation? Perverse as someone's sexual orientation may be, it has nothing to do with the quality of their scholarship. If you want to proceed at that level, the first translation you need to get rid of is the King James.

Deviations

What do you do with the fact that the King James Version deviates repeatedly from both the Textus Receptus and the Hebrew Masoretic text?

What do you do when the Textus Receptus says one thing and the King James mistranslates it? Or the words do not appear in the Textus Receptus and the King James adds them? Or the words appear in the Textus Receptus and the King James leaves them out? And what about the words found in the Textus Receptus which do not appear in any Greek text?

According to the King-James-Only people, the only correct Old Testament text is the Masoretic. But when the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament, it usually does not follow the Masoretic Text, but the Septuagint. Does that make the New Testament heretical?

Dead Sea Scrolls

In this century we have seen the hand of God in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The 22% of the Scrolls published so far show there has been no mutation (changing) of the Bible text over the centuries. I would have to argue that any Bible Version which pre-dates the Dead Sea Scrolls is, for scholarly purposes, obsolete. Not because they tell a different story, but because they affirm the accuracy of the texts handed down to us.

While many people have come to faith through the preaching of the King James Version, I am convinced that the KJV translators would have produced a slightly different version if they had had access to the materials available today. There are good translations and there are bad translations. The King James is a valid Bible. The NIV, although I don't like it, is a valid Bible. The New American Standard Bible is a valid Bible. The Message, the New World Translation, the Inclusive Bible, the Couples Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible are not good translations.

The Bible is the Word of God in the Word of Man. That doesn't make it any less the Word of God, but neither does that make it any less the Word of Man. The minor discrepancies in the source texts available to us do not affect the historicity of the relevant events – that God became a man in the person of Jesus, that He taught these things, that He went to the Cross and died for our sins, that He rose from the dead, that we should live this way accordingly, that this is our future, that certain things are going to happen. None of these facts or doctrines are affected.

The Word of God is still true. God is still watching over His Word to perform it. There are no problems with our Bible. 

(1) House, H. Wayne 1994, A Summary Critique: New Age Bible Versions, in Christian Research Journal, Fall 1994, Christian Research Institute International.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Riplinger, G.A. 1993, New Age Bible Versions, A. V. Publications, p.344.

(4) Palmer, Edwin H. 1974, The Person and Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Michigan, p.83.

(5) Ibid, p.65.

(6) House, H. Wayne 1994, A Summary Critique: New Age Bible Versions, in Christian Research Journal, Fall 1994, Christian Research Institute International.

(7) Riplinger, G.A. 1993, New Age Bible Versions, A. V. Publications, p.318.

For more detailed information on the general subject of English translations of the Bible, see: Carson, D.A. 1979, The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids.

Lewis, Jack P. 1981, The English Bible: From KJV to NIV, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids



Don't bit ethe hand that feeds you - Irish hypocrisy towards Israel

By David Passmore • August 21, 2026
Don't bite the hand that feeds you - Irish hypocrisy towards Israel Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Amongst European nations, Ireland in recent years has gained the reputation as being the leading anti-Zionist country. The Irish Republic has never been favourably inclined to Israel. It only established an Embassy in Tel Aviv in 1996. In poll after poll the vast majority of the Irish public have indicated hostility towards Zionism and strong support for Palestinian Statehood. The curious aberration to this is that in British Ruled Northern Ireland support is demarcated along sectarian lines. Catholic Republican areas predictably tend to ardently support the Palestinian cause, while Protestant Unionist communities are overwhelmingly pro-Israel. Perhaps some credence can be given to sentiments of traditional Catholic antisemitism hardwired into the Irish psyche as contributing towards this disposition. It was certainly odd that the Irish government promptly sent a delegation to the Nazi German Ambassador in Dublin to convey condolences after news of Hitler's suicide broke at the end of WW2. But more concretely if you were to ask the average Irish protester on a pro-Palestine march the basis of their empathy for the Palestinian cause, they would point to the ostensible parallels between the Irish experience of fighting for independence from British colonial oppression to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Further remonstrations on a diplomatic level concern the actions of the IDF interreacting with Irish Peace Keepers in Southern Lebanon that have caused the deaths of several Irish Peace Keepers over the decades in friendly fire incidents. Ireland has contributed the most peace keepers to this mission per capita and the government has condemned Israel for these deaths that they view as avoidable. This animosity towards Israel is unbalanced. There are reasons to consider that Ireland and Israel have a shared experience of national liberation. Both countries fought the British in the pursuit of independence. Both countries made great efforts to resurrect their ancient languages for modern wide scale use. Both the Irish and Jews form major diaspora communities in New York. Despite all this Ireland ranks as Israel's second largest export market after the US. The preponderance of Israeli exports to Ireland comprises electronic integrated circuits, micro-assemblies, and tech manufacturing components. American multinational colossal tech corporations like Intel are substantially engrossed in this trade through the chain of supply. Ireland and Israel are hubs for design and manufacture of high-tech hardware components for US corporations. So, due to the nature of the most prosperous and competitive sectors of their respective economies, Israel and Ireland are inextricably bound in bilateral trade ties. Resolutions from the Irish government to impose sanctions on West Bank originating produce is merely perfunctory rhetoric. Such actions amount to a drop in the bucket in terms of impact to overall trade. The stark reliance of Ireland on advanced Israeli aviation equipment recently caused a spectacle when Ireland's new government jet struggled to land in heavy fog due to it being ordered without an advanced Israeli made navigation system. This was directly due to a short-sighted government decision not to buy Israeli military technology. There is a marked disparity between the official position of the Irish government designed for domestic public consumption and the economic policies that it actually pursues towards Israel. The government is acutely aware that the US is massively invested in the Irish economy and they don't want to do anything to jeopardise this. Washington demands that their enterprises in Dublin are intertwined with operations in Israel. The Irish government dare not even prevent US military supply flights refuelling at Shannon Airport on their way to Tel Aviv. The Irish government knows that times change and now the gripping social issue is the anti-immigrant/anti-Islam popular street protests. Soon the anti-Israel protests could become a mere side show only really promoted by Sinn Fein given the pressing ramifications of mass migration. So, in the meantime certain politicians will rile against the occupation, purported genocide and pass paltry sanctions against insignificant produce from the West Bank. All the while making hand over fist in money with the Israelis where it really matters in tech.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

The tide has Changed

By David Passmore • July 31, 2026
The Tide Has Changed Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The America that Netanyahu touched down on is a changed America. The death of Lindsey Graham represents a changing of the guard. Graham was a staunch Israeli ally who will most probably become an increasingly rare breed in Washington. Sixty percent of Americans now hold a unfavourable view of Israel which politicians are finding difficult to ignore. It was once unthinkable to believe that New York City with such a strong Jewish electoral base and influence on all sectors of economic and cultural life would have a mayor that is so hostile to Israel to such an extent that he is calling for the arrest of its Prime Minister. From all accounts Netanyahu was cordially welcomed at the White House. The official press release stated that the talks were constructive. What is more telling is what was left unsaid particularly concerning the proposed sale of F35's to Israel's new regional adversary -Turkey. Trump is keen to find a swift resolution to the Iran War, while Netanyahu is opposed to a premature departure. When the US and Israel initiated their attacks on Iran over five months ago, Trump and Netanyahu appeared united in the War's goals and purpose. But as the protracted conflict has staggered to topple the Iranian regime fractures have emerged. Much has been said about the imminent political realities both leaders face. The Republicans could take a big hit in the November midterm elections should the war continue and global energy markets be negatively impacted. Netanyahu is anxious to demonstrate a big win to the Israeli public with the upcoming October election. In Israel, the Iran War is not viewed in isolation, but rather as an extension of the response to the colossal disaster of the October 7th massacre. Netanyahu must rehabilitate his reputation as a competent steward of national security having had the greatest loss of civilian life in an attack happening under his watch. Aside from the Iran issue, Trump is being pressured by Erdogan to insist upon Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory pre-emptively seized by Israel following the toppling of Assad. Trump has also indicated disapproval of the extent of continuing Israeli measures against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, questioning the proportionality employed. Netanyahu is not in an envious position. Throughout his tenure and political career, he lauded his ability to engage successfully with the American public by zealously advocating Israel's position. Yet under his government Israel's reputation has plummeted in the US. Trump may be the last US President to extend such overwhelming bilateral support to Israel. The days of politicians like Lindsey Graham are fast ending. While John Fetteman and Marco Rubio appear to be remaining more solid, even some of the most warmly inclined leading Republican and Democrat voices like Donald Trump and Rahm Emanuel have nuanced their support for Israel. The tide has shifted and will at best level off if not continuing to shift further.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

The Saudi Nuclear Deal: An attempt to alter the Regional Balance of Power

By David Passmore • July 24, 2026
The Saudi Nuclear Deal: An attempt to alter the Regional Balance of Power Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The initiative to develop a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia with US assistance isn't new. There were concrete plans discussed towards these ends during the first Trump Administration. The recent announcement to actualize this deal follows the geo-political regional tumult in the wake of the Iran War. Several dimensions of motivation underlie the US decision. An overarching US strategic agenda is to keep the Saudis firmly in the American sphere of influence. Washington knows all too well that the Chinese and Russians are eager to offer their nuclear technical assistance to the Saudis in order to draw them closer to their camp. On a personal note, the nuclear agreement is a significant achievement for Bin Salaman. The Saudis have long had designs to diversify their energy supplies. Having a civilian nuclear program also adds prestige to Saudi Arabia as an emerging market economy. For the US, a monopoly on contracting companies for the requisite construction offers lucrative economic opportunities. Although the Civilian Nuclear deal does not allow the enrichment of Uranium, the Saudis will be in a position to do so if Washington gives the green light. This will act as a counterbalanced threat hanging over the Iranians. After the recent flare up of renewed fighting with Iran due to their lack of adherence to the moratorium of understanding, something had to budge in Trump's estimation. A reconfiguration of the power balance in the Gulf by introducing the potential of Saudi Arabia to be able to acquire nuclear weapons shifts the dynamic and places further pressure on Iran to strictly abstain from nuclear proliferation. Despite Israeli concerns about the agreement, Trump sought to assuage their alarm by making it contingent upon Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with them. Given the inherently unstable nature of an autocratic Saudi regime Israel views a diplomatic relationship with the Saudis as being on precarious footing in the long term. Israel is already forced to contend with the implications of one nuclear armed Muslim state - Pakistan and it will further weaken its own deterrent capability if another similarly capable hostile neighbour were to emerge in the future. The roles of Turkey and Qatar in all this foray are a wild card. Officially Turkey is served under the NATO nuclear umbrella for defence that is subject to US control. However, its civilian nuclear program remains in its infancy. Now with the Saudi deal, Erdogan may be inclined to exert pressure on the US to help accelerate his own nuclear program. Just as Erdogan's efforts to acquire F35 fighter jets from the US greatly disturbed Israeli military planners, a heightened Turkish nuclear ability will intensify this fear. Qatar views itself as pursuing its own independent foreign policy that has managed to remain rather neutral during the current war, thereby escaping the ire of Iran's strikes on US regional assets. Overall, the Qatari government has grown closer to the Turkish vision for the region and so likely isn't particularly amiable to the Saudi agreement. Ultimately the Saudi deal is a gamble. Many will see it as throwing more fuel on the fire which will further imperil the tinder box region and heighten tensions. But Trump finds himself at a continuing impasse with a stubborn regime in Tehran that is leveraging their geographic hold on the straits of Hormuz to inflict damage on the global energy markets. Iranian strikes upon US Arab regional allies have underscored the de facto alliance between Israel and the Arabs against Iran and its Shia proxies. The US hopes to use the Saudi nuclear deal as a means of making this alliance official by having Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords as a pre-condition.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

Circling the Wagons

By David Passmore • July 14, 2026
Circling the wagons Ruben Rothler LLB, LLM Israel is a society riddled with tension and division. It is sociologically, if not politically miraculous that a country drawing Jews from all over the world is able to exist at all. The army affords a degree of integration as a melting pot. But this is only a marginal source of national unity in the overall scheme of things. More so are the myriads of external threats that face this small country. In the former generation the Ashkenazi (Jews of European descent) - Sephardic (Jews of Oriental descent) divide was far more pronounced. The dominant Ashkenazi establishment held the reins of political and economic power which was resented by the Sephardim. However, due to a combination of inter-marriage and political accommodation much of the chasm that separated these distinct groups was forged. Menachem Begin (an Ashkenazi politician) in 1970 successfully ran on the Likud Party ticket with a campaign that brought Sephardic Jews under his conservative political umbrella. Later the immigration of Russian Jews following the end of Communism would add a whole new dimension to the Israeli demographic milieu. The younger generation of these immigrants tended to adapt well to Israeli society and contributed much to the economy. The wider division in Israeli society that crosses ethnic lines concerns that between religious and secular Jews. This can be further bifurcated to the clash between the secular and specifically ultra-orthodox Jews (Haredim) as distinguished from the national religious Jews (Dati Leumi). The Secular and the Religious generally part on what they envisage a Jewish State to entail. Religious Jews desire the State to strictly adhere to the stipulations of Jewish Law (Halacha), while at present Halakhic influence is largely limited to certain areas of Family Law concerning Jewish citizens. Wider considerations of promoting a socially conservative political agenda would also be forefront amongst the religious mindset broadly. Secular Jews view the imposition of such proposed measures as a serious infringement of their civil rights. With regard to the Haredim, the bone of contention looms larger, in that this group is fundamentally opposed to participating in society at large. This is acutely manifested in diminished contribution to the work force and a refusal to be conscripted into the army. The 2023 judicial reform protests posed a significant threat to social civil order. The nation appeared to be bitterly divided into two opposing camps. This split reflected broader divisions concerning visions of how the country should be governed. The judicial reforms would have weakened the Supreme Court's ability to render the Executive branch accountable. However, the Supreme Court was also accused of using its considerable powers to promote a socially liberal agenda. Left wing secular Israelis tended to oppose the proposed reforms while those on the right (which included the majority of Religious Jews) supported the reforms. Every weekend droves of protesters were brought onto the streets causing major disturbances to traffic. The polarising nature of this impasse threatened the future of Israeli democracy. It was the October 7th attack that brought a swift end to this public debate and civil strife. The nation instinctually united in response to this common existential threat. The judicial reforms were shelved for a future point when the urgent security threats subsided. However, as the war dragged on the enduring issue of Haredi refusal to conscript into the army became more pronounced. Mounting casualties combined with ever increasing manpower demands to field troops on the multiple theatres of action on which the IDF is engaged has depleted the ranks, and the army is now in much need of fresh conscripts. Haredi belligerent refusal to participate in the pressing national defence has escalated from being a political debate to a matter of very practical vital importance. Overall we can observe that the challenges to national unity in successive generations since the establishment of Israel has recurrently been ameliorated by the common necessity of defence towards outside threats. Most recently we can see this happening with regard to the global anti Semitism and anti-Zionism that has been raging since the October 7th atrocities. These hostile attitudes have paradoxically acted as a force which promotes nationalism and a sense of national cohesion in Israel that otherwise might not functionally exist.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

A Divided Nation

By David Passmore • July 8, 2026
A Divided Nation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The Haredi community has had a complicated, paradoxical relationship with the State since its founding. Rooted in a Talmudic precept that the Jews are forbidden to resettle the land of Israel en masse by force before the coming of the Messiah, the secular democratic State of Israel presents itself as blasphemous by its mere existence. Yet due to practical considerations such as the need to obtain funding for its religious academies the Haredi leadership reached a settlement with the State's founders that exempted Haredi men from being conscripted for military service. This was at a time when the Haredi population in Israel was relatively small. Over the past decades this demographic ballooned until the point that soon the majority of Jewish children in Israel will be born into Haredi families. Such a situation is clearly unsustainable. Recently the Knesset's (Parliament's) Haredi parties have pressured their coalition partners in government to codify Torah Study as part of the Country's Basic Laws. This was purposefully done to elevate the status of their institutions to be on parity with service in the IDF. Israel is yet to promulgate a written Constitution, so legislation classed as a Basic Law holds Constitutional status for all intents and purposes. These moves by the religious parties represent a back door power grab to enshrine in law very significant hurdles to prevent the enlistment of Haredi men. The burden of Israel's defence is comparatively massive for a country its size and it is vastly disproportionately shouldered by the secular population. Until now there have been political initiatives to conscript the Haredim. But given the huge manpower shortages emerging in the wake of near continual conflict on multiple fronts since the events of October 7th this matter has become urgent and not merely a theoretical discussion of what is fair and equitable. It is important to draw a distinction between the Haredim and national religious Jews (Dati Leumi). The Haredim adhere to a lifestyle entirely committed to observance of Jewish Law and Talmudic study. This is embraced to the exclusion of gainful employment and participation in wider society. They are either outrightly opposed to Zionism or consider themselves non-Zionist. Conversely, followers of the national religious movement in Israel although being observant of Jewish law and learning would alongside this pursue secular professions. Furthermore, they are ardently Zionist and disproportionately serve in IDF combat units. This is often done within the framework of a program called Hesder Yeshiva that combines religious learning with military service. Efforts to cater a similar model for accommodating Haredi participation in the IDF have so far failed to make substantial gains. Such measures designed to override Haredi objections to service based upon modesty concerns by strict segregation of the sexes in these specially formed units have failed to appease the Haredi leadership. For them, any form of military service is considered a dereliction of their duty to fully devote themselves to a Torah lifestyle. They argue that their Talmudic learning and prayers are in itself a form of national service and act to protect the Jewish people spiritually from enemy attack. It is as if two parallel societies exist within Israel. And the trajectory of separation between the two is only growing. The Haredim are cloistered away in their Yeshivas, immersed in lives devoted to adhering to the stipulations of Jewish law. While the particulars of actually running the State is left to the Secular. The Haredim desire all the benefits of subsidizing their lifestyle without contributing to society. What we really have going on here at source is two profoundly different and opposing ideological visions of what is important in life and what is the purpose of a Jewish State. At the State's founding these divergent perspectives were more manageable. Ben Gurion only had to contend with one religious party –the National Religious Party. Later in 1970 Begin aligned with the NRP to form a coalition government that also brought Sephardic Jews under the Likud umbrella which had the effect of bringing unity to the country by bridging the Ashkenazi-Sephardi divide. However, over time Israeli politics has seen a proliferation of religious parties, gaining further leverage as king brokers in forming governments due to the proportionate representation voting system which secular Israelis not uncommonly view as political blackmail. (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).

Why Is It Always Israel? | Zechariah 12 Is Happening Before Our Eyes

By David Passmore • June 29, 2026
P

Pray for South Africa!

By Mea Fredrickson • June 23, 2026
New Paragraph

Disclosure - A Christian response

By David Passmore • June 22, 2026
THE CAPTION AT THE HEAD OF THE POSTER IMAGE FOR THE MOVIE ‘DISCLOSURE DAY’ BOLDLY DECLARES ‘WE DESERVE TO KNOW’ Indeed, we do need to know the truth. But will we find it in Stephen Spielberg’s new movie ‘Disclosure Day’? Could it just as well be entitled ‘DECEPTION DAY’? In an interview with USA Today Spielberg says that evidence of non-human contact has become “overwhelming” to him. He has suggested that his film could raise significant theological questions for Christians. But will it? For us Christians - No, not on our watch! The movie raises no questions for those who accept the proven accuracy of God’s Word, the Bible. The film, which is capturing the imagination of the public, only confirms exactly what scripture tells us about what are in fact extra-dimensional beings. ALIENS OR FALLEN ANGELS? God inhabits the heavenly realm along with a vast array of angels. Because Lucifer, a created angel, wanted to usurp God as ruler of the universe, he was expelled to another realm outside of our time and space, along with one third of the angels who rebelled with him. These fallen angels manifest themselves as demons who can appear on earth and disappear at will. Spiritual hosts of wickedness exist in heavenly places, wherever this realm is, it is not the place where God dwells. ARE ALIENS BENEVOLENT? In the movie, the ‘aliens’ are portrayed as friendly beings who want to help mankind in a time of crisis. If the aliens are really demons, not visitors from outer space, this is a dangerous delusion. Whitley Striber in his book ‘Communion’ writes on encountering ‘aliens’; ‘I felt an indescribable sense of menace. Whatever was there seemed so monstrously ugly, so filthy, so dark and sinister. Of course they were demons. They have to be.’ Many others have reported similar malevolent experiences. During the movie, Daniel claims to have had an encounter with extra-terrestrials during which he received a special gift of empathy, which is regarded by him as the ultimate superpower. However, there is only One who completely understands our human frailty. We read this concerning Jesus: ‘For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.’ (Hebrews 4 v 15). Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11 v 28) END TIMES DECEPTION Before he was crucified, Jesus warned his disciples about these last days in which we are living. The first words he used in this context were: “Watch no one deceives you. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Deception was top of the list! Later, the Apostle Paul wrote about these days: ‘The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.’ (2 Thessalonians 2 v 9) Have you received the love of the truth? Have you received Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life? If not, you are in great danger. Perilous times are here and they are only going to get worse as man turns more and more away from his maker. Things will only change when Jesus returns soon to establish his own Kingdom on earth, where justice and peace will rule. JESUS, OUR ONLY HOPE! The Bible says all human beings are sinners. The message of Jesus is simple; repent and believe the good news, that God wants humanity, his highest creation, to be reestablished in relationship with him. His plan was simple: to give his life in unconditional love for every human being that has and ever will live, by shedding his blood on a Roman cross. In doing this, we can receive forgiveness of sins. Our old life will then be buried with him, giving us new life with the hope of an eternal future of true peace, love and joy, with freedom from pain and tears. Why ignore such a great gift of salvation? If you do, your fate will be sealed for eternity in hell, which is a real place without God, and thus without love, to face only eternal consequences of punishment. We condemn ourselves to such a fate. REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! Jesus loves you and asks that you repent and believe in him. It would be the best and safest decision of your life! If you commit your life to him, he will give you a new heart, you will be a new person inside. You will also gain a new desire for all that is right and true. And his Holy Spirit will give you an ability to discern the lies of the age we are living in. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave us his only son, that whosoever believes in him, will not perish, but have eternal life.’ (John 3:16) FINALLY, A RECOMMENDATION  All that is described in this leaflet has been open, in the light for millennia. On the other hand, the theory of extra-terrestrial life has been hidden in darkness, awaiting ‘Disclosure Day’. Which would you prefer to believe, the Word of God, or the word of Stephen Spielberg? I made my choice years ago, and have never regretted it! If this message has spoken to you, just call upon Jesus in a short prayer. Confess to him that you are a sinner in need of salvation. Ask him in sincerity to forgive you and to fill you with his Holy Spirit. You will then become what the Bible describes as being ‘born again’. (John 3 v 7) Then you need to seek a Bible believing church where you can be baptised and become part of a group of believers who can help you get to know Jesus more and more fully. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8 v 32)

Prayer request for Teerth Sond

By David Passmore • June 20, 2026
Prayer request for Teerth Sond Petitioned Prayer-Supplication/Personal Prayer/ Collective Prayer/Thanks Giving Prayer Our Dear brethren in Yeshua, my family & myself Teerth request your prayers in The Spirit that the latest drugs Ramicirumab & Pacilitaxel will destroy the cancer cell in the Authority Of The Lord Yeshua in The Power of The Holy Spirit. Targeted Petition: Please stand with us in prayer & fasting; The Lord will target the 2cm legion & that it will be cast out of my Liver in the love (agape), compassion, kindness, grace, mercy of God. I do not deserve it because of me- but By His Stripes we are healed for His Glory. This will allow the main operation to go ahead (which should have been done 18 months ago). Step by Step in the leading of The Holy Spirit and the in the Lord Step by Step, as our beautiful sister Beryl said, has worked on my Spiritual man- thank you Lord for waking me up. Lord raise me up for your glory forever because of your love to me, the family & fellowship- an unworthy sinner saved by your grace & love. Email sent to my Oncologist & my Local MP: Greetings Natasha & Dr Mano Joseph Hope All Is Well Thank you for our meeting today. At our meeting we discussed my MRI & CT scans which were done in May 2026. We discussed the operation on my oesophagus which I believe is the best option. (This should have been done 18 months ago). My Kidney operation will be done- non evasive- Lord willing within the next month. Will you be talking to Mr Chacravaty about this? The liver must be targeted first- this is wisdom and the latest radiotherapy treatments available- proton therapy-radiotherapy atezolizumab and bevacizumab sorafenib lenvatinib regorafenib cabozantinib durvalumab and tremelimumab At the meeting we discussed the next CT & MRI scans to be held end off July. Wouldn't it be to better to have them in August so by then I've had 4 full treatments on the latest medication. Also we have Zolbetuximab on compassionate usage- all glory to The Lord. After all the past wrongs I have no doubt now Dr Joseph you will pursue the best for me and family. Dear brethren- King Manasseh, David, Hannah, The Church For Peter, James, The Lord Jesus Christ for example made petitions onto the Lord. We pray as one body to cast off the illness in the Power of The Holy & The Authority Of Yeshua. The Great Physician who came for the ill. To lay out raised hands 🙌🏽 upon the head of our Lord. ABBA/Daddy/Lord in your mercy have mercy on us. Love you all in Yeshua our Lord & God. Teerth, Family & Fellowship

The End of an Extended Honeymoon – Are Trump and Netanyahu Parting Ways?

By David Passmore • June 19, 2026
The End of an Extended Honeymoon – Are Trump and Netanyahu Parting Ways? Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM  The Israeli public had high hopes for Trump. Unlike his predecessors, he consistently endorsed Israeli measures of self-defence in the different theatres of conflict in which it had to contend. Further to these ends Trump shared in Netanyahu’s determined agenda of preventing the Iranians from pursuing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. During Trump's first term he tore up Obama's negotiated settlement with the Iranians concerning enriched Uranium, echoing Netanyahu’s position that it didn't go far enough. Now in his second term Trump partnered with Israel in a war with Iran that turned out to lack clearly defined goals. The campaign required resolve on the part of America that it wasn't willing to commit. After an initial lightning blitzkrieg that decapitated the Iranian leadership, the Persians dug in and the conflict became a protracted war of attrition hinging on Iran's stranglehold on the straits of Hormuz that could only be realistically lifted by placing boots on the ground or an intensified air war directed against Iranian coastal positions and the destruction of Kharg island, or at least the viable threat to obliterate Kharg island if Iran did not acquiesce. It transpired that Trump and Netanyahu underestimated the resilience of the Iranian regime, thinking that it had already received a near mortal blow during the prior popular demonstrations. So now we are left with a situation where Trump is exasperated with this protracted endeavour and appears to be aiming his frustration towards Netenyahu. A sticking point is Israel's continued occupation of Southern Lebanon. Iran is insistent that Israel withdraw its forces from there as a precursor to fully committing itself to a final status agreement with the U.S. to put an end to its nuclear aspirations. With the midterm elections looming Trump seems to be desperate for an exit strategy from this war. From Israel's perspective the fight against Hizbollah is an inextricable part of the Iranian equation. The IDF has invested massive resources and personnel in the hopes of quashing the Iranian proxy once and for all. Netanyahu is determined to build on the momentum achieved after the spectacular pager attack in 2024. After the catastrophic Hamas massacres of October 7th, the majority of the Israeli public is unwilling to tolerate a capable hostile force on its borders. Trump's proposed solution to this dilemma unrealistically suggests that Syria should take on the role of disarming and removing Hizbollah from Lebanon. In the ultimate reckoning of international relations, America doesn't have iron clad allies, but rather interests like any other nation. If, (as appears to be occurring now) U.S. and Israeli interests fail to align the two countries will cease to act in unison and there may be a rupture in relations on the not-too-distant horizon. Trump has indicated that Israel owes him big time. He has asserted that were it not for his decisive actions they would have been obliterated by Iran's missiles. This is nothing to say of the robust diplomatic support Trump has lent Israel in such forums as the United Nations Security Council and sanctioning officials of the International Criminal Court. Netanyahu is acutely aware of what may be next after Trump. The way public opinion is turning against Israel it is unlikely that the next administration is going to be any way near as friendly as Trump has been thus far to Israel. Trump too of course is mindful of this turning tide opposing Israel. The Iran war has been unpopular to his domestic audience, and the President has been caricatured as Netanyahu’s stooge doing Israel's bidding. Another major consideration for Trump is the colossal impact that the war has had on his other major regional allies: the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. They have received the brunt of the Iranian backlash that has effectively targeted their energy infrastructure and trading routes. They, along with the Europeans have been exerting pressure on Trump to end the conflict and reopen the Straits of Hormuz regardless of whether the most favourable terms of Iranian capitulation are achieved. Israel, however important a strategic asset and technological powerhouse will not override these broader concerns that are endangering global energy markets. An unspoken factor is Trump's propensity for a belligerent severing of his relationship with allies in the political sphere. His public displays of hostility with former political allies such Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Ron Santos and Elon Musk demonstrate a temperament that the same kind of falling out could invoke with strategic allies as well as those political. Both Trump and Netanyahu are approaching the sunset of their political careers and are naturally inclined to deeply consider the legacies they will leave behind. In the international sphere Trump projected himself as a peacemaker from a position of strength. But as many commentators have pointed out, the war with Iran demonstrated the limits of U.S. power. Trump appraised Iran as low hanging fruit that could be swiftly toppled like Venezuela. However, when push came to shove and the only prospect of landing a decisive blow demanded a massive ground offensive on the scale of the Iraq war, he bottled out and sued for a premature peace that will leave Netanyahu in the cold. Netanyahu is anxious to rehabilitate the injury inflicted on his reputation of the greatest disaster to have occurred in Israel's history having happened on his watch. Eliminating Iran as the great regional adversary pulling the strings of its proxies would have done much in this regard. Neither leader is able to craft their legacies as they would have wanted. Trump is choosing the perceived option of mitigating the damage done to his legacy in foreign affairs. He is trying hard to sell his Iran deal as being more than what Obama bargained in terms of guaranteeing a nuclear free Iran. But as further details of his proposal are leaked this is becoming a tall order. Netanyahu is faced with October elections and he may decide to stay the course in Lebanon as otherwise he will seem weak to most voters. Should this happen, we will be in uncharted waters as it will thwart Trump's designs for an immediate end to this affair.